The Experiment
by jewels369
Summary: "We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." -Chuck Palahniuk Damon/oc
1. Prologue

Prologue

We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will ~ Chuck Palahniuk

_Felix Bratten's Home Notes:_

_June 5th, 1986_

_I've been working for a dna lab for about five years, and today, our employer just announced a single new opening for this gene-altering facility in Sweden.. They are looking for a hard working man or woman, and the person who gets the job would get a 5 million dollar grant. The hours may be long, but for five million dollars, the hours are not inconvenient. And a few months ago, my wife, Susan found out that she's pregnant with my daughter. If I manage to get this job, my daughter won't have to live the life of the lower-class, but one of the upper classes. She is going to be beautiful, I know it, and I want the best for her, and for Susan.. _

_Let's hope that I can get this promotion to Sweden's facility._

_June 10th, 1986_

_I got the job! I don't know how I did, but I did it! I was so sure that they were going to hire Jacob, but I guess not! They had some very strange information they needed to know.. The interviewer was noticeably interested when I mentioned I have a baby on the way, but that probably was because he has kids of his own. Anyways, I had to sign a form that would restrict me from telling anyone outside of M-131 about what goes on in that building, which sounds a little suspicious. Although, I do have a wild imagination, its probably nothing.. Well, whatever improves Sweden's genetic technologies, is best, I suppose._

_August 29th, 1986 _

_I've been working at M-131 for two months now, and it's been both a thrill and a curse. The things we do here, what we just started doing, it is so very wrong, but oh so fascinating. I dare not mention what we do here, for fear of the repercussions and of that damned curiosity of mine being left unsatisfied. This work.. it may be the work of the devil, but I feel that if our goal IS accomplished, the world will never be the same.._

_January 27th, 1987_

_My beautiful little girl was born today, at Karolinska hospital. She is an adorable little girl, with her mother's blonde hair, and my grey eyes. She is a completely healthy, 7 lb baby. _

_Mira Faye Bratten. Isn't that a beautiful name? She hasn't even been in our lives for more than a few days, and she is already the apple of my eye- Min Lilla Princessa!_

_I had to leave work and go on maternity leave, which leaves me a bit disgruntled, since we were just starting to get progress on test subject # 5. Subject 5 has helped improve our studies but alas, there are still a few.. abnormalities that were unwanted with our project. But, we can always get a new subject, I suppose.. _

_July 3, 1989_

_Today.. is a black day.._

_Full of grief and pain and loss.._

_The day that my wife, Susan Bratten, has died in a freak car accident. I feel like I was gutted and left in the cold, especially since I know that Mira, my shining beacon might dim with the news. I fear telling young Mira about the loss of her mother, seeing as a two year old should never have to lose a parent like that. Poor, poor Mira. She's too young to have to feel such sadness. _

_How am I to tell her that her mother is never coming home? I am rarely home anyways, how am I supposed to keep her from falling too far into depression? Can toddler's even fall into depression? This is inconvenient, seeing as subject #8 just started showing improvement. I can't take time off now, not when we are getting such hope-filling results!_

_But, it seems that I'll have to monitor the feed from home, since it would be unwise to leave Mira in such a state of loss.. Maybe a pet will help ease her future pain?_

_Feburary 14th, 1992_

_I've been searching through the papers in my free-time, searching for a Nanny to watch over my daughter, seeing as her previous nanny had notorious sticky fingers and had to be dismissed. I think I found the perfect woman for the job, however. A proper lady, in her young 20's, which is rare these days. I'm glad that I bumped into her now, and learned of her need of a job. She seems like a trustworthy, likeable lady, so hopefully she and my little princess will get along._

_Feburary 16th, 1992_

_The first meeting went along splendidly! Mira was excited when I first told her of her new nanny, and when they met, Mira immediately took her on a tour throughout the house. I can honestly say that they got together along fine, so my worries have been diminished. Although this nanny, she is definitely strange. She acts so reserved and proper one minute, then she's a playful tease the next. Yes, she and Mira will become close, I can tell already. Hopefully Mira will learn a thing or two from her._

_Katherine Pierce, I have high expectations for you.._

_April 7th, 1992_

_Mira gave Katherine the most adorable nickname today. When Katherine came over to watch her before I left for work, she ran downstairs in her little princess nightgown, and hugged Katherine saying "Mistress, your back! Let's play princess again!" _

_It was a completely heartwarming view, honestly, and I don't regret hiring Ms. Pierce as her nanny.  
Another plus is that Maja, our siamese, finally warmed up to Ms. Pierce. Before, Maja would react badly and hiss whenever Katherine got too close, and you wouldn't find Maja in a room alone with Katherine. But today seems like a day of firsts, since Maja actually allowed Katherine to come up and even pet her! _

_Which is good, since I was beginning to think that we would have to start locking Maja up whenever Ms. Katherine was over. I don't want her to accidentally scratch Mira because of her irrational fear._

_July 25th, 1995 _

_We've run out of options at M-131. Our project has run out of steam and funds. Our last subject, #12, died unexpectedly, before we could get any promising results, and because of this, our superiors refuse to provide us another subject. _

_So, as the head of our projects, it's up to me to find us a new subject. This is a lot of pressure, but I have a duty to uphold. And, since our last project, involving reptiles, has failed so soon, it leaves me with two aspects that I need to retrieve. I can't let this project- this lab fall apart! Not until I have finished my work, and our questions have been answered!_

_I stressed for hours this morning when I learned our fate, when Mira's Siamese, Maja, crossed my path and evoked an epiphany. I had no need to stress, for all of our answers were lying in this very household! Although, it is a shame, what shall happen tomorrow, but it's all in the name of science. Min prinsessa, she will be a model human of the new world, of the next great generation. She and Maja, they will become the next step in our evolution! _

_June 26th, 1995_

_Tonight, we start our newest project,_

_The phoenix project._

_The start of new life, of new evolution among humans!_

_Tonight, we make history, _

_and its all thanks to subject #13.._

_She will lead us into a wonderful new world.._

_..min lilla prinsessa.._

_The Phoenix Project Assessments; _

_Assessment manager: Felix Brattens_

_August 1st, 1997_

_After multiple tests, we decided to place subject 13 into a tube and fill it with water, seeing as with subject #10 that worked best with his seizures, and it is easier to keep the test subject in an unconscious state than in a room. Not only that, but it is a bit easier to conceal the tube should any.. unwanted guests should arrive unexpectedly.;_

_December 25th, 1999_

_Its Christmas today, but we aren't going home, oh no. We can't, not when subject #13 is about to be injected with a new dosage today. The F-132 is a composition that will hopefully improve her reactions and her senses. If this test goes the way we want to, her senses will be modified to more of a cat's range of senses, rather than human. _

_This is a very important test that we need to do, but hopefully she will survive this. Subjects before her have not been able to pass this one injection, but we modified this dose, so subject 13 will have to take five doses instead of the previous full dose. Hopefully, this will make the process easier, and her body will be more inclined to evolve rather than die out. _

_I wish you luck princess, make me proud._

_December 26th, 1999_

_It's been 12 hours since we gave subject 13 her first dose of F-132. I can say, overall, it was a successful first attempt. She suffered two seizures, and her blood cells did- at first, reject the dosage, but eventually her body calmed down and accepted the fluid. She is still under watch, though, since the serum is still being shifted through her system, and she is prone to another seizure or loss of blood flow in certain limbs._

_As much as I wanted to take away her pain, we've learned through trial and error that if we give the subjects pain medications when they're under dosage use, it kills them off faster. So, to prevent that, and give her a fighting chance, we held back. I can say, though, it would be best to keep her sedated and asleep until after her fifth dosage, and only if she survives all of it, then she can be awakened. I honestly can't wait to see how much we've improved from previous failures!_

_The only downside to prolonging the dosage injections is that we have to wait a year for each additional dosage, seeing as inserting too much at once will overload her body and will start off an inner war between the serum and her blood cells._

_September 30th, 2001_

_We've injected subject #13 with her third dosage, and she did splendidly. She only had an elevated heart rate, but it eventually reduced to its normal pattern- which is now 150 beats per minute. Just the fact that her heart beats faster than a humans- which is 60-70 bpm, is proof that the serum is having an affect on her!__I believe her body is finally accepting the serum, which is a great thing for our project! _

_That means she is slowly evolving into the new human we've been dreaming of! And when we finally inject the last dosage to her, we can inject the Imp22, which will prolong her life and speed up her natural healing, hopefully. Thankfully, we only have to inject it every month for one year._

_Strange though, the compounds in Imp22. Our funder came in a few years back with a vial, and we discovered that if we isolated certain specific atoms, we could prolong life and fasten the healing process! We are still unsure as to how long that life could be prolonged, so before we attempt to inject this into Subject #13, we shall test it on small animals, since our funder still refuses to give us anymore test subjects._

_Such a shame, we could always use another one.._

_January 27th, 2003_

_It's Mira's birthday today. She's 16 now. She's growing into such a fine young lady, hopefully she will have retained her respectful manners that she learned from Ms. Pierce.__I've waited a long time for this. Today is the day we will finally wake up sleeping beauty. Heh, it's funny, when she was younger, she hated sleeping beauty, and yet, who's the sleeping princess now?_

_The tube is being drained as I type this, and when it's fully drained, I'll have to leave this unfinished, so that is rather unfortunate. But, I will leave another assessment when we have finished all of the tests to see what has improved and what has remained the same._

_Let's hope that this long wait was worth it.._

_Feburary 3rd, 2003_

_I have finished all of my tests, and I must say, the serum changed more than we anticipated. One thing that didn't change, understandably, was her mental state. She still acts like a nine year old. Granted, she was very frightened and we had to give her a small sedative to keep her calm, but not enough that we couldn't properly analyze her. _

_The first thing that we noticed, or I noticed, was that her eyes, which were once grey, had turned into a clear, beautiful blue. Once she was properly sedated again, we took a closer look and found that not only had her eyes completely changed color, but that she somehow gained a tapetum lucidum that's normally found in felines. Her iris' wouldn't shrink in a circular motion, but rather they shrunk into straight lines. _

_At the time, though, we couldn't discern why her iris would shrink into lines, or why her eyes would reflect the light, but we tested it by putting her in a dark room and placing some familiar objects around the room. When she was fully conscious and her body could move properly, she looked around the room then headed straight to a flashlight. How we knew she could actually SEE the flashlight was because she didn't fumble around in the dark, and she was staring straight to the flashlight, and not in a general direction. We also gave her multiple other tests just to be sure that she actually COULD see in the dark._

_This is, however, only one of the affects of the serum, there are, in fact, more improvements. _

_After more experiments and tests, we figured out that she can hear up to 1.6 octaves above a human's, and her hearing has gotten sharper as well, but not too far above the range of a human's. At the most, 20m if someone's whispering, 30m for regular talking, and 110m for shouting. Nothing too drastic._

_Her sense of smell has improved too, and is now 14 times stronger than a normal humans._

_We've tested her reflexes, and they've almost tripled in reaction time. We shall do more tests in due time, but she is being put back into the chamber seeing as she has exhausted her body, and needs rest._

_March 31st, 2003_

_It's been a month, and it's now safe for us to inject her with Imp22. This treatment will last a total of 12 months, in which once every month she will be awakened from her tube, injected with a dose, watched for any change in symptoms, then returned to her tube. She will only be awake enough to watch for reactions, but not enough to move or speak. If she does, it's a reaction to the treatment. _

_This treatment shall prolong her life, and if we are correct in our suspicions, then also improve her ability to heal. With every dose, she should gain a faster healing time, and more years. It's a miracle we managed to find the right combination to provide her with increased healing. It's unknown to us if she will gain immortality or if she will live twice the amount of humans, but what we do know is that it increases the ability to heal, and it will keep her young. _

_April 30th, 2003_

_Something happened when we injected imp22 into her bloodstream that we didn't plan for. When we originally intermixed subject 13's blood with F-132, it caused her to morph and gain some advantages that we find in felines. However, when imp22 and F-132 were intermixed, it didn't run along as smoothly as we had hoped. Although, that doesn't mean that the experiment completely failed. We believe that imp22 and f-132 mutated, and caused.. what happened here today. _

_One of our new recruits was here and monitoring 20 minutes after the injection- and that's when he noticed that the water was becoming red. Then subject 13 started to spasm in the water, much to the kid's horror. The red was blood coming from her head and around her torso, and when we managed to calm her racing heart, we realized that her ears had morphed._

_Her ears had grew, and moved up her head a bit, until she had two triangular-shaped, black feline ears on her head, and a long thin black tail from her tail bone. We fished her out, and tested the new appendages, finding them to be legitimate. It was a very unexpected discovery, to say the least. Without her gas mask keeping her sedated, however, she awoke, and attacked us. She managed to stumble into a corner, where she curled into herself and growled at us. We tried talking to her, but she didn't seem to understand us, and instead acted like a cat would. Which includes hissing and scratching. She even __**meowed**__! _

_Very strange and unexpected indeed._

_We got our psych evaluator inside when we eventually caught her, and he told us that our subject had the mentality of a cat, and there was nothing we could do. _

_We decided to leave her out and in a cell for the rest of the day to study her behavior. _

_Our hopes are that imp22 will eventually melt into the rest of her blood and she will return to normal.._

_June 1st, 2003_

_We cannot explain this.. Yesterday, she was hissing and meowing as if she was a house cat, but now, Now subject 13 is sitting there, ears and tail missing, and speaking as a 10 year old again! This is absolutely mind-boggling, and we have more questions on what happened, and no answers to any of them! _

_Once we did some tests to make sure she really was back to a 10 year old in a 16 year old body (we removed mirrors so she doesn't have a psychological break down), and got a vial of her blood, we put her back in her tube. I hope we can figure out what that strange side affect was.._

_July 1st, 2003_

_It happened again! One of our female researchers suspects that it's a permanent side affect that will take place of her menstrual cycle, seeing as she's close to 17 and has yet to have it. An interesting conclusion, but we shall have to monitor this and draw conclusions later.._

_December 5th, 2005_

_Our funder came in unexpectedly with a news reporter today, we barely had time to prep the lab for civilian eyes (aka: hiding project phoenix, project star, and project drake). The reporter was very observant, I have to admit, even with our projects hidden, he still managed to notice the covering for phoenix. Hopefully, my explanation on how it was a piece of art from one of our previous researchers will prevent any suspicion.. I hate it when our work has to be postponed because of the press. We have life-changing projects happening back here, and we shouldn't be bothered!_

_December 20th, 2005_

_We have been discovered, that damned reporter called in the International Researching Police, and now we have to destroy everything. All of our hard work, all of our records, gone! Goodbye! Ruined! We already destroyed project star and drake, all that is left now is Project Phoenix._

_We are so close to perfecting subject 13 too dammit! I can't give up on her now! I don't care that they are going to destroy the building, even if I'm inside it! The phoenix project is my life! I can't abandon her now, not with all this progress we made! No, I shall stay here, and see who gets here first, the IRP or the fire.._

_As I wait for the end, I can't help but gaze upon my masterpiece, Subject #13-no, Mira.._

_Oh Mira.. I'm sorry it has to end like this; I couldn't finish your tests- finish your evolutionary jump. I had so many more plans for you.. I would of made you the model human.. You would of led humanity on the path of evolution.. But now.. You will be the outcast that outlives them all. At least you'll have the last laugh, eh?_

_No matter what, always know that you made me feel so accomplished. You were the one who lasted the longest. _

_My evolutionary step; My phoenix.._

_min lillaprinsessa.._

_I'm so proud of you.._

A feminine chuckle echo's in a small room, as a girl with blonde hair wipes away a few tears from her blue eyes. A weak smile tugs at her face as she gazes at the paper in her hand.

"I guess I do get the last laugh, don't I.. Dad?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**A/N: Hello everyone! I know this probably isn't the best idea to distract myself by creating another fanfiction, but to be honest, I couldn't help myself. I've been writing a few chappies of this FF, and I can say I'm pretty proud of it! (Raise you're if you realized from the home notes that Mira is a cat-girl) **

**I know what you're all going to think, "Oh a neko, how mary-sue" and "oh, I've read this before"- but you really haven't! This one will –hopefully- make sense!**

**I'm going to try my hardest to make this as realistic as possible; even though neko's are pretty common in the Anime/Fanfiction world, I at least wanted to give this one a chance of actually making sense. So no: "I've always had cat ears" and "hello people-nya!"**

**(Honestly, sometimes I die a bit inside when someone does that)**

**So please, give it a chance! You'll enjoy it, I guarantee it! C:**

**Enjoy and Review! **(^w^)

**~Jewels**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It's been 4 months since I've learned what I am and since I've come terms with my unnatural 'condition'. I've lived in the small orphanage with my sympathetic friend, Mrs. Appling, who has practically raised me for my pre-teen life all the way through my adult-hood. I'm currently 23 years old- 18 mentally and physically- and I'm still sleeping in the rundown home that is Apple Orchard Orphanage.

I know, I think it sounds ridiculously chipper as well.

Chipper or not, this orphanage is where I spent most of my 'normal' life; living and learning, maturing slowly into what I am today. Mrs. Appling sent all the kids to a school down the road, but as for me, I was home-schooled on account of my _condition. _Apparently people would notice me not physically aging.

Pulling me out every few months for two days would cause too much suspicion too, after all. It's not my fault I apparently lose all control and run around with cat-appendages- devouring every can of tuna in sight…

Just because I was home-schooled, however, didn't mean that I was stuck in the house all day. Mrs. Appling would take me out of Stratford (where our orphanage is) and into London, England for grocery shopping. I am also allowed to travel to London alone- seeing as I'm old enough to keep myself safe- and work. I work as a sketch artist in the streets of London, using my "superior" artistic skills to draw realistic portraits of anyone who wants one. Which, seeing as London is a tourist hot-spot, turns out to be a fair amount of people.

Today is a warm Saturday morning in Stratford; most of the children were still asleep, save for a few young toddlers who seem to have endless bounds of energy.

Today I was wearing a comfortable grey t-shirt, with form-fitting jeans and red converse. I was making my usual trip into the city, my teal-looking-but-is-actually-green satchel bag slung over my shoulder and bouncing off my leg as I bounded down the stairs. I entered the kitchen to see Mrs. Appling standing by the stove, cooking herself some eggs and hash-browns. The delicious smell of home-made food rushed over me and invaded my senses, causing me to inhale in delight. My bob-cut hair bounced around my ears as I walked up to Mrs. Appling and gave her a good-morning hug.

"Morning Mira!" Mrs. Appling greeted cheerfully, causing me to grin cheerily.

"Morning Ms. Eva!" I replied back smiling at her mock frown.

"What did I say about calling me Ms.? It makes me sound old, Mira." Mrs. Appling said laughing quietly. I grin and walk over to the cupboards, pulling down a couple plates and a cup.

"Are you planning on going into the city today?" She continued, refocusing on her breakfast. I nodded.

"Why yes, _Evaline, _I'm going to work. Saturdays are always the busiest days of the week for me, ya know." I replied, chuckling when she huffed at her name. Things have always been relaxed between us. Evaline and I were great buds, her being the comforting mother-figure I haven't had since Mistress lived with me.

It's almost funny, before my childhood was taken away from me, I remember the brown-haired beauty who raised me, and my father who was loving- Distant, but loving. I could never remember her name though, only _Mistress_. I never let it get to me anyways, since I'm confident that she is either old or dead.

"Well I wish you luck today." Mrs. Appling's voice brought me out of my contemplative thoughts as she stole my plate and dished a heap of scrambled eggs and hash browns onto my plate. I smile in delight and sat at the kitchen table, impatiently waiting for Evaline to sit at the table with me. The moment she sat down, I picked up my fork and started eating gracefully.

However hungry I was, I still had proper table manners- instilled into me when Mistress was in charge of me. ;  
The food was eaten quickly, however, and once done, we both sat in comfortable silence. The sound of toddlers playing in the playroom was a background noise in my ears, which I knew couldn't be heard by my friend. Just another happenstance that shows my inhumanity.

I softly sigh, catching Evaline's attention. She looks me over with a small, confused smile, but I only shake my head and smile reassuringly back.

"Mrs. Eva, do you need anything while I'm in the city?" I asked, tilting my head slightly as I looked at her. She only smiled and shook her head.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. Just go and have fun, take all the time you need." I nod my head and stand up, placing my dish in the sink and walking into our mudroom.

I lifted my brown jacket off of the coat rack and slipped it on, sliding my bag onto my shoulder as well. Turning to look at Evaline, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, I give a small smile and wave.

"See ya." I said, turning and heading out the door and into the sunshine.

"Stay safe!" She yelled behind me, much to my amusement. I laugh quietly as I ease the door shut and walk up to the road. I turn right and follow the road, humming random tunes under my breath as I hiked a few miles to the bus stop. Once there, I waited patiently on the bench, keeping an eye out for the familiar red bus to pull up. I didn't have to wait long until a single-story bus pulled up and stopped in front of the bus stop. I stood and walked to the door, flashing my bus pass to the driver as I searched for an empty seat in the back.

I found a comfortable seat and I stared out into the horizon, daydreaming about nothing.

I must've been out of it for a while, because in seemingly no time at all, my stop was called and I headed off the bus. I stepped onto the familiar bustling concrete and softly wrinkled my nose as a particularly fat, sweaty man brushed past me, leaving a disgusting scent in his wake. I shook my head to clear the smell, and turned the other way, walking towards a nearby park that was close by. The surrounding shops were all open for business, some with fancy signs set out in front of restaurants and others without.

It was all very magical, no matter how many times I've walked down the same street, I couldn't seem to get tired of all the activity around here.

I entered a small park, where all around people walked hurriedly through, barely taking notice of the gorgeous water fountain in the center square, surrounded by flowers in different shades of color. I could only guess that they had a wide assortment of colors, seeing as my colorblindness only allowed me to see white pink and blue.  
The official name for my color blindness was tritanopia. Basically the world is in shades of red, pink and blue. I can't see green, and I can't see yellow. It's slightly frustrating to deal with most of the time, especially since I'm an artist. So because of my disability, I tend to stick with graphite than paint.

Looking into the small array of flowers by the fountain, I couldn't help but smile softly. I waltz up to the fountain and sit on the rim, quickly pulling out my weighted sign and setting it up beside me. Pulling out my sketch book, I look around at all the people walking past me. Sighing contently, I look at the edge of the ring and spot a bench.

Nothing too exciting about it, just an ordinary bench, Albeit the bench looked awful lonely in such a busy atmosphere. Inspired, I flip open my book and turn to an empty page, glancing up at the bench before working on a rough sketch. And thus was how I spent most of my day; drawing the lo;nely bench between working on customer portraits.

Eventually, after a young girl and her friend left me with their group picture, I glanced back to the bench, expecting it to be empty, only to notice a redhead sitting there.

She was quite pretty, with her curly red-brown hair, and her casual jeans and shirt. She had a map in her hand, and was looking at it in confusion. Smiling softly to myself, I decided to incorporate her into my picture, swiftly drawing her pose as she gazed into the map. I was so focused on my picture that I didn't realize when the redhead looked up and watched me curiously. I also didn't notice when she walked over and sat next to me, letting out a semi-loud gasp in amazement. Jumping, I clutch the pad and look her over, eyes wide in shock, which quickly turned to embarrassment.

"a-ah!" I breathed out, snapping my head to the now-empty bench and back to her, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. The lady was staring at me with unhidden amusement as I stammered and tried to calm myself down.

"U-uhm hello. C-can I help you?" I stuttered. She smiled kindly and shook her head.

"Well, actually no. I was just curious about what you were doing. You're such a good artist!" She said enthusiastically, gesturing to my artwork, causing me to blush.

"Th-thank you!" I replied bashfully, pushing a stray hair behind my ear nervously.

"So, is that me then?" She asked leaning over to examine her sketch closely. I quietly nod my head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about drawing you without your permission. Usually I ask strangers if I can draw them first.." I mumbled, causing her to smile sweetly.

"Oh its no problem, really! I've never really had anyone draw me before, and I must say, I do look good." She said winking at me. I couldn't help but laugh, shifting my hand out to her.

"My name's Mira, Mira Brattens."

"Jenna Sommers."

"Its nice to meet you. Would you mind if I finish drawing this picture of you?" I asked somewhat shyly. Jenna smiled excitedly.

"Of course not! Do you want me to sit back at the bench?"

"No, you don't have to, you can just sit here. Just, hang on.." I trailed off, standing and shifting her body so that she was facing me, tilting her head so that the light caught on her face.

"Thanks, sorry, this shouldn't take too long.." I replied, sitting back and drawing her face.

"Oh, take all the time you need, I have all day off."

"Oh cool, so do I.. Well, kind of." I said, both of us chuckling.

We both then spent the rest of the day talking, getting to know each other.

I learned that she was on vacation, and she lives in Richmond Virginia. She has a sister who is married, and she has a niece and nephew. She is staying in London for the next week before she has to go home.  
In turn, I told her all about the orphanage, and how drawing is my side-job, how old I am- well, how old I am according to the orphanage. (Which is 17 ½)

I told her of my hobbies, and my dreams for the future. All in all, it was a great day. When the sun started to sink into the horizon, I was forced to pack up and say my goodbyes for the day.

"I'm sorry, I take a bus home, and I don't want to miss it."

"Nah, it's fine. I'm sure my friends are wondering where I am as well."

We both stood silently, and I pondered for a moment, before taking my sketch book and ripping out the picture of the bench.

"Here." I said, handing her my drawing.

"Hm? Oh, no I couldn't-"

"Please. Think of it as something to remember me by. I might not see you again during your trip, after all." I stated, smiling softly. Jenna reluctantly nodded, before snatching my pen and book.

"Well in that case, I might as well give you something back, right? Here, this is my phone number and my email." She said, grinning and clasping my hands around the paper securely. I stared in shock at the folded paper, before looking up and smiling widely.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to call you!"

"You'd better." Jenna said mock-threateningly, causing me to grin. Her grin slowly eased into a soft smile.

"I'll see you around, alright?" I nodded before swinging my bag up and walking towards the bus stop, waving over my shoulder.

"adjö!" "_Goodbye!" _I shouted in swedish, turning and practically skipping to the bus stop. I sat all throughout the stuffy bus in a good mood, and when I finally returned to the Orphanage, I skipped up the stairs, humming happily under my breath. I collapsed onto my bed, the old springs creaking under my weight, but I didn't care. I just hugged my sketchbook, staring at the wall and smiling.

_'__I made a friend..' _

~Time Skip: 6 days later~

A shrill bell rung throughout the orphanage. My ears perked at the unexpected sound.

_'__That's the phone. Who's calling during dinner?' _I thought curiously, watching as Mrs. Appling excused herself and strode from the room. I tilted my head, as did a few other children, and I waited. The other children started talking again, excitedly gossiping about school and little jokes that they heard that day. I quietly sat, drinking my milk curiously as I tried in vain to listen in on the conversation in the other room.  
I gave up however, when I found I couldn't hear anything because of the rowdy bunch around me.

"Hey! That's MINE! Mira! Johnny stole my custard!" A little girl yelled, causing me to sigh and gently smile in amusement.

"Johnny. Don't you have your own custard you can eat?" I asked. Johnny, the small brunette trouble maker of the house, huffed and held his arm out further from his tiny neighbor.

"No."  
"Well, where did it go?" I questioned.

"..I ate it." He mumbled hoping I wouldn't hear him. I did, though, and laughed quietly.

"Johnny, give Amanda her pudding." He growled, and glared at the triumphant Amanda, slamming her cup down in front of her.

"Here." He snapped, frowning as Amanda happily slurped the desert.

"Hey, if you behave, I _might _be able to find some left overs in the fridge.." I teased, pretending to gaze at my nails boredly. Out of my peripheral, I watched as he straightened up and gazed at me happily.

"Really!?"

"Yes, now shush and eat your broccoli." I said, chuckling as he nodded and quickly dug into the rest of his food.

I heard a throat clear and looked up at an estatic and amused Evaline.

"Mira, come here for a second." She said, grinning at me. Confused, I stood and followed her into the other room.

"Yes? What is it?" I asked.

"Guess!" She replied giddily, interlacing her fingers and trying to cover her smile. My eyes widened as I recognized the excitement.

"Is someone being adopted?" I asked, watching as she nodded with a giant grin.  
"Really!? Oh who is being adopted? Is it Chris?" I asked happily. She only shook her head and I tilted my head, caressing my chin as I thought hard. "No? Uh, is it Casey?" I asked frustrated as she kept denying and laughing in amusement.

"You'll never believe who it is."

"Johnny?"

"No! Haha, i'll give you a hint. Their first name starts with an M." She said, grinning esctatically.

"Mary! Mary's being adopted! Right?" I asked, almost shouted in excitement, only to slump in dissappointment. "No? Oh, come on Mrs. Eva, who is it?! Please I'm _drowning_ in curiosity!" I said playfully.  
"It's you."

I froze up. No. No way did she say what I think she said. I anylized her, trying to find some type of dishonesty in her green eyes.

"What..?" I questioned eyes widening as I realised she was serious.

"You heard me. Your being adopted hunny. Oh, I'm so happy for you!" She said loudly, tearing up and scooping me into a hug.

"Really..? I-I'm being adopted..?" I asked, hugging tightly before I leaned back, disbelief evident in my expressions. "Is this a dream?" Evaline only shook her head, reaching out and petting my head. I automatically leaned my head into her hand.

"No, this is real. Your being adopted. Your finally going to have a family!" She declared, causing me to sniffle and hug her again.

"H-how? W-who?" I cut myself off, just hugging her tighter. My emotions were bouncing all over the place, engulfing me in shock, happiness, anxiousness, fear, and who knows what else. All in all, I was seriously overwhelmed at this information. We held each other for a few moments, before she pulled away, petting my hair again.

"Mira, Theres something that you should know. This woman, she's leaving to the States tomorrow early in the morning, so you need to go pack." I gasped quietly as I heard this new information.

"Wh-what? I'm leaving the country?" I was slightly scared about moving so far away from my first family, but Evaline noticed and shushed me again.

"Yes, but your going with someone you know. The woman who adopted you, don't you want to know who she is?" I quietly nodded, causing her to chuckle.

"Her name is Jenna Sommers." I gaped, but she ignored me and continued. "She is 24, lives in Richmond, very pretty and very sweet. She met a girl recently, who she knows is lonely and who needs a family. So she decided to invite you into hers."

"D-does she know..?" Evaline nodded, causing doubt to cloud my thoughts.

"A-and did she-;"

"She accepts you, Mira. Every beautiful flaw of yours is accepted." Tears started to run down my cheeks at this revelation. The knowlege that i'm a freak still hurt, but knowing that she, my new mother accepts me as I am.. Words can't begin to describe how relieved I am.

I was removed from my inner-relief by Evaline gently guiding me towards the stairs.

"Go on up and get packed, then go to bed. I wasn't kidding about you needing to get up early tomorrow. Your done with your dinner, right?" I nodded. "Good, I'll wash your dish." I smiled and nodded, turning and going up the stairs and entering my plain room.

Looking around the pinkish walls and the creaky bed, I knew I was going to miss it. Slowly, I pulled my duffel bag out from under my bed and started packing. I only owned a little clothing, so it didn't take me long to clean out my dresser. In no time at all, my room was empty; all my drawings and small books were tucked safely into my duffel. I spun around once, before flopping onto my bed, letting out a sigh in contentment.

_'__I guess a new chapter is opening up in my life. Oh I never thought this day would come! Watch out Virginia, here I come!'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.

**A/N: *wipes eye with tissue* Oh my gosh, sorry. Didn't mean to get so emotional at the end. I honestly can't think of any other reaction though that seems realistic. So, as the young-ins say, "Yolo!"**

**Yeah, this is almost like a rough start to a fanfiction, so uhm.. Stick with it please? :3**

**Haha, anywho, what do you think so far? Sappy? Mary-sue? Downright despicable? I'd love to hear from ya'll about this, so please review! **

**Next chapter coming sometime soon~**

**~Jewels**


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